The dress that Amy Winehouse wore for her last concert in 2011 has been sold at auction for 16 times its estimated value.
The green and black dress has gone for $243,200 [approximately $323,000 AUD] at Julien’s Auction in Beverly Hills, with proceeds going to the Amy Winehouse Foundation, which assists young people who are battling addiction.
The iconic bamboo print dress was worn by Winehouse at her last concert, which was in Belgrade, Europe.
Winehouse herself collaborated on the dress with her stylist and friend Naomi Parry. Between the two of them, they designed 11 dresses for her to wear on her upcoming European tour.
However, on the night that Winehouse was wearing the green and blue bamboo ensemble, she wandered off stage while slurring and the entire tour was cancelled as a result. One month later Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning. She was 27 years old.
“I feel an immense amount of sadness when I look at that dress,” Parry told The Post. “[The dress] was supposed to be the start of something new and moving forward. She had been doing so well.”
The dress was one of 800 of Winehouse’s items that were auctioned off this past weekend with all of the proceeds going to her charity. The personal items ranged from bras and DVDs to books and make-up and were sold by Winehouse’s parents.
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The second highest item was a heart-shaped handbag custom-made by Moschino that Winehouse wore to the 2007 Brit Awards, which sold for $204,800 [$272,000 AUD].
The entire collection is said to have bought in around $4 million US for the charity, approximately 5.32 million Australian dollars. The amount is twice the price the auction house originally forecasted it to sell for.
“Of course, there are fans and museums and collectors all over the world that will want to own some of these items, care for them, show them at museums, keep her legacy and her memory alive and at the same time raise some money for the foundation,” Martin Nolan of Julien’s said ahead of the auction.
“All of these dresses represent Amy — fantastic musician, songwriter, but also a fashion icon,” Nolan said.
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